For King and Country
by tjsmklvr
Summary: In S1E8, 'Saved by the Bells' we never found out what happened to Rostov. Did Lee get into trouble for committing treason? What if this episode occurred in season 3 instead of 1?


**For King and Country**

 **By:** Tjsmklvr

 **Written:** Summer 2018

 **Genre:** Romance/Adventure - Alternate Universe

 **Rating:** T

 **Setting:** Late Season 3

 **Summary:** In S1E8, 'Saved by the Bells' we never found out what happened to Rostov. Did Lee get into trouble for committing treason? What if this episode occurred in season 3 instead of 1?

 **Special Thanks:** Thank you to my beta Anne for finding my typos. A special 'thank you' to my betas and sounding boards, Sheila and Lexie. Thanks for nagging—er . . . um, I mean, pushing me to write this.

 **Disclaimer:** Scarecrow and Mrs. King and its characters belong to Warner Brothers, CBS, and Shoot the Moon Enterprises. No infringement is intended. This story was written for entertainment purposes only. Please do not redistribute or reproduce without my written permission. Excerpts from 'Saved by the Bells' written by Eugenie Ross-Leming & Brad Buckner, teleplay by Chris Cluess, Stu Kreisman, & Joel Steiger, and story by Dean Hargrove & Joel Steiger.

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"Now, when you told me you had a sick friend, you didn't tell me that your friend was a fish."

"Didn't I?" He glanced over his shoulder to see her staring into the fish tank and couldn't help smiling. He snatched a suit from the closet and dropped it onto his bed.

"Mmm uh." She now stood outside his bedroom doors and watched him move about the room.

"Ah, gee I'm sorry," he called back before entering his bathroom to gather his toiletries.

"Where are you off to anyway?" she yelled.

"Billy's got me off on some wild goose chase," he replied as he returned to the bedroom with an armful of personal items. Off her raised brow, he continued, "Some agent has gotten himself into trouble in New York and needs to get bailed out."

She picked up the haphazardly thrown suit and shook it out before sliding it expertly into the garment bag that was hanging on the closet door. "You mean I'm not the only one you bail out?" She chuckled softly to herself. "How long will you be gone?"

He grinned as he watched her refold his clothes and place them gently into his bag. When had he started to appreciate her mothering ways? What was once an annoyance, had slowly grown into an endearing quality. "Uh, I should be back in a couple of days." Off her slight grimace, he added, "Think you can stay out of trouble until then?"

"Very funny, Scarecrow."

He laughed and took ahold of her hand, tossing the pair of socks she held onto the bed before squeezing her hand lightly. "I mean it, Amanda." He lowered his head until they were level with each other and stared intently into her eyes. "Please stay safe. I worry about you when I'm not here to watch your back. Don't let Billy talk you into anything sketchy. There's plenty of paperwork to keep you busy for the next few days."

"Oh, lucky me!" She rolled her eyes. "And the same goes for you, Pal! Don't pull any stunts. No jumping on moving vehicles, no wild car chases -"

He brought her hand up to his lips and kissed it ever so softly. "I promise, Mrs. King. No flying squirrel act this time."

"Yeah, well . . ." She smiled and her eyes crinkled at the corners, the way he loved.

"So, will you help me out?"

She turned and zipped up his garment bag and lifted it from the door before handing it to him. "What's a partner for?" She replied flippantly.

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The first thing she remembered when she came to was the shooting pain she'd felt as the larger man's fist had come into contact with her jaw. Truth be told, that was the ONLY thing she remembered, as everything had gone black immediately after that. It had only been about twenty minutes since Lee had left for the airport when the two burly men had broken into the apartment. With not so much as a word, they had knocked her out. When she had first opened her eyes, she assumed she'd been blindfolded due to the utter darkness she found herself in, but running her fingers over her face, she realized that wasn't so. She continued her search and felt the edge of tape at the corner of her mouth. Giving a quick tug she screamed out in pain when the tape pulled at her split lip. Figuring no one would hear her screams anyway, she left the offending tape where it was for now.

Based on what she could feel with her hands bound in front of her, she was in some sort of wooden box or crate. After a moment, she heard a motor come to life. Getting jostled around, she realized whatever she was in, was within a moving vehicle. She listened hard for anything that would indicate her location. How had they gotten her out of the building undetected? Didn't anyone notice an unconscious woman being dragged out? As the vehicle rushed down the road, in what direction Amanda didn't know, she tried to get her bearings as the miles ticked by. The darkness may have dampened one of her senses, but she listened carefully for any tell-tale signs of their whereabouts. It wasn't long before she heard the sounds of a typical neighborhood; dogs barking, children playing, and birds chirping. The question was, what neighborhood? How far was she from home? And since Lee was on his way to New York, who was going to save her?

The vehicle made a few more turns before stopping. She knew the box had been taken out of the vehicle as she could hear the sounds of nature more clearly. The feeling of being lifted lasted a short time until one of the men dropped their end and she grunted when her head bumped the side of the crate. The other man yelled at him to 'be more careful,' and once again, she was lifted and carried inside a building as the sound of the barking dog was now muffled. It was only moments later that she heard the snapping of wood above her and the lid to the crate was removed. Amanda struggled to adjust her eyes, focusing on the two men in the room that hadn't previously accosted her. She couldn't help letting out a yelp when a hand was shoved under her arm and jerked her up onto her feet. She was standing eye to eye with an older gentleman.

"At last we meet," the older man seemed almost giddy to see her. "I must say, I have been looking forward to this for a long time. I hope your trip was not unpleasant."

She fought to express her unhappiness against the sticky tape. She was even more agitated when he chuckled at her predicament. "Excuse me," he spoke and then indelicately removed the tape from her mouth.

"Owww! How dare you! Who are you? Where am I?" Without giving him a chance to respond, she rushed on, "Look, I have sick fish to take care of." She licked her dry lips and the distinct metallic taste of blood was evident.

"There is no reason to carry on this charade any further," he shrugged. "In the name of all those who admire your work, Scarecrow . . . I salute you."

"What did you say?"

He gave her the once over before replying, "I had no idea you were so lovely." He clucked his tongue. "It's a pity I may have to kill you."

' . . . oh my gosh.'

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"God, Billy! How could they think she was me?" Lee pulled his hand roughly through his hair and jumped up from the sofa in frustration.

"Well, we're obviously dealing with amateurs or someone who's never tangled with you before."

"Great! What happens when they find out that Amanda's not the Scarecrow?" the knot in his stomach tightened even further. He paced back and forth in front of the large window overlooking the bullpen.

"Scarecrow—"

"Save it Billy. I know, 'don't go borrowing trouble.'"

Billy nodded. "Let's just wait and see what Dr. Smyth has to say."

"That stuffed shirt isn't going to agree to the trade! He doesn't get it. He lives in his ivory tower, protected from the real world, where people like us do all his dirty work and if one of us is in trouble it's sayonara," Lee growled as he leaned against a chair.

As if on cue, the head of the Agency sauntered into the office, a cigarette holder between his lips.

"What was the committee's decision?" Billy inquired.

"We are to proceed with debriefing Rostov," Dr. Austin Smyth puffed out a cloud of smoke and continued, "We've decided not to accept the Russian offer of trading for the King woman."

"What?" Lee yelled as he stood to his full height. As much as he'd told Billy he knew that they wouldn't agree to the trade, he was holding onto the hope that he was wrong.

Smyth bit down on his cigarette holder and stared Lee in the eye as he replied, "We're not making the trade."

Lee moved toward the man, pointing his finger, "Now you listen –"

"All right," Billy moved in between the two men and held up his hand to keep Lee from jumping the gun. "May I ask why?" he calmly asked his superior.

"The loss of Rostov will disrupt the Soviet espionage effort for months. For this, we give up a woman of no crucial importance."

Lee rubbed his temples and mumbled, "I don't believe this. No crucial importance?" he snorted in disgust. "That **woman** . . . has saved the lives of –"

"Lee . . ." Billy warned.

"Those were the committee's words, not mine," Austin Smyth clarified.

"Yeah, but you'll enforce the decision," Lee ground out through gritted teeth as he whirled around to look out into the bullpen. Would his colleagues be so willing to risk their lives if they knew the very country they were protecting so fiercely would leave them out to dry if given an opportunity to best their opponent? Lee was pulled from his musings when he heard the sing-song voice of his nursery-rhyme spouting superior.

"Baa Baa Black Sheep. Have you any wool? Yes sir, yes sir, two bags full! One for the master, one for the dame.' Unfortunately, the little girl from Arlington is out of luck this time, eh Scarecrow?"

Lee turned back and snarled at the good doctor, "You haven't got a fuc—"

"Scarecrow!" Billy pressed his hand against Lee's chest and pushed him away from certain career suicide.

"Buck up, Stetson," the older man called as he reached the door. "Why don't you head down to the train station and get yourself another recruit?" the ever-smoking man sneered as he hurried out of the office and onto his next meeting.

Still stunned, Lee could only shake his head in disgust at the man's ill-timed sarcasm.

Billy breathed a sigh of relief when his agent didn't race after the other man to tell him exactly how he felt about his comments. "Lee . . ." he sighed not knowing what he could say at that moment that would make any of this better. "We're not supposed to take this personally." He knew it was ridiculous for him to think that his distraught agent would be able to shake off his feelings for the housewife-turned-agent, but as his supervisor, it was practically mandatory that he state it. Hell, it wasn't sitting with him any better. Amanda didn't deserve this, nor did her family. And what was this going to do to the man pacing in front of him? When Lee didn't respond Billy tried again, "It's our objectivity which—" the look Lee gave him stopped him cold.

"Amanda is going to die in my place, Billy. That's as personal as it gets," he spat out.

"If it were another agent, would you feel the same way?" He knew the answer before he spoke the question but waited to see if Lee the man would respond or Scarecrow the agent.

Lee turned his back on his supervisor, suddenly feeling very uncomfortable. "Ah, Billy . . . you know," he turned to meet the older man's eyes. "I mean, it's Amanda," he could feel blood rush to his neck and face.

"Yeah. I know, Lee," he nodded with understanding. "This one isn't easy. Give it some time."

"I can't live with this one, Billy."

'Too many.' He absently shook his head. Too many people had died on his watch. He wasn't about to let another one die in his place. Least of all the woman he . . . he wouldn't finish that thought. He had to stay focused if he was going to get her back.

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"Oh my gosh, Lee!" She waited for him to untie the ropes around her wrists before wrapping her arms around his neck and burying her face there. The tears that she'd been holding were finally released.

"Shhhh! It's okay. You're safe now, Amanda." He rubbed her back soothingly and squeezing his eyes shut, he focused on slowing his heart rate. The only thing that had scared him more than not getting her back was how willingly he had gone against his superiors and snuck Rostov out of the Agency to trade him back for Amanda. He'd have to wait until later to think about the ramifications of his recent actions to his life and his career.

"They thought I was you," she whimpered. "They just broke into your place and shoved me into a crate," her voice quivered.

"I'm sorry about that," he pulled back to get a good look at her. "If I had known they were watching my place I never would've—" the words caught in his throat when he saw her bruised jaw and split lip. "Amanda, who did this to you?" His fingers pressed carefully at the edges of her mouth.

She gasped when his fingers got a bit too close and he pulled back immediately, his eyes seeking hers in a form of an apology. "One of Zinoviev's men," she mumbled as she turned her head away to avoid his scrutiny.

Lee made a mental note to seek out this Zinoviev and his men to repay them for the "hospitality" they had shown Amanda. He squeezed her knee gently to get her attention. "Let's get out of here, huh?"

She met his eyes and smiled gratefully. "Yeah." She glanced over her shoulder, catching sight of the other golf cart holding Rostov as it crested the hill. "I can't believe Dr. Smyth allowed this trade to happen. I always thought the Agency stance was no negotiating with the enemy. And especially for a civil—" She stopped mid-sentence when she caught Lee's expression. He was looking everywhere but at her. "L-e-e?" She called wearily.

"We better get you out of here," he stated matter-of-factly as he restarted the golf cart and backed up.

"Lee?" She placed her hand atop his on the stick shift.

He stared intently at their hands but didn't move.

"The Agency didn't agree to this trade, did they?" While she knew the answer, she was hoping with her entire being that she was wrong.

"Amanda . . ." he whispered.

"Oh, Lee. What are they going to do to you when they find out?"

"It's okay. I'll handle it. Let's just get you away from here." He shifted the cart into drive and drove toward the clubhouse and his car, careful to stay near the edge of the trees for cover just in case those Russian goons decided they would get 'the Scarecrow' back now that Rostov was among their ranks.

After a few minutes, they arrived at the clubhouse. Lee wasted no time getting Amanda into the passenger seat of his car. He'd made sure the vehicle hadn't been tampered with and would have been surprised if they had. After all, they didn't know he was the man they were seeking. And he'd be sure to use that knowledge to his advantage.

He climbed into the driver's seat and started up the car. The tires screeched as he tore out of the parking lot.

Amanda's left hand instinctively clutched the center console and she double checked that her seatbelt was secure. She recognized the determination in her partner's eyes and couldn't help but worry what would happen to him after Dr. Smyth got ahold of him. A suspension for sure, she reasoned.

"Okay, Amanda. Once we get into the city, I'm going to have to drop you off to catch a cab." He nodded toward the center console between them, "Reach in there and grab the small film canister at the bottom. There should be a twenty in there for your fare."

Amanda did as she was told and pulled the money from the container. She stared at Lee's profile. His eyes flew from mirror to mirror and then to the windshield as if he were being chased. She glanced to the passenger side mirror and then glanced over her shoulder. "Is someone following us?"

"No," he answered robotically.

"Lee, they were headed toward the other end of the course, they couldn't have found us already." The look he gave her caused a shiver to run up her spine. She watched the muscle in his jaw as his eyes once again jumped from mirror to mirror. She'd never seen him so afraid of the enemy before. "The Agency!" 'This time the enemy wasn't the other side.'

"What?" Lee jumped at her sudden outburst.

"You're not afraid of Zinoviev and his men . . . you're afraid of the Agency!" She rubbed her temples worriedly. "You're in serious trouble aren't you, Lee?"

"Don't worry about me, Amanda."

"Well, someone has to! You certainly aren't!"

"This is where you get out," He pulled the car out of traffic and stopped at the curb. "Now listen to me, you need to take a cab back home and if anyone asks, you haven't seen me. Got that?"

"No," she shook her head vehemently.

"What do you mean, 'no'?"

"No, I'm not going to let you face this alone."

"You listen to me, Amanda King! This is my problem, not yours!" He growled and reached across her to jerk open the passenger door.

She slammed the door shut and met his stare. "I. Am. Staying," she stated firmly. "Now, what's the plan?"

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"Come on, come on!" Lee called over her shoulder as he pressed himself against her back.

"Stop rushing me! You know it makes me nervous," she hissed. The lock finally turned and the door to the musty motel room gave way.

Lee pushed her through the threshold and followed right behind before slamming the door shut and throwing the chain in place.

She wrinkled her nose at the smell and glanced around at the spartan room. "Nice place, come here often?" Amanda joked as she pulled the curtains closed and then wiped her hands against her jeans.

"YOU were supposed to go ho—" he snapped before she held up her hand and smiled.

"I was just trying to lighten the mood," she answered apologetically.

He sighed as he plopped down on the bed. He hadn't meant to snap at her. What did he expect her to do? They had been partners too long for him to think she'd willingly let him deal with this alone. "We were lucky to dump the 'vette before they spotted us. At least now they'll have a tougher time finding me." He glanced over to her standing near the door when she cleared her throat, and then quietly added, "I mean, us."

"Lee, I can't believe you committed treason . . . for me." Amanda walked over and sat down next to him. The bed dipped beneath her pulling him closer. "Oh, um . . ." she attempted to put some space between them but it only seemed to pull him closer to her. "I'm sorry, it's just this bed . . ." she pushed her left hand against his chest, while the other pushed against the dilapidated bed.

"Uh, Amanda. I don't think that is helpi—"

"No, no. Just stay there and let me . . ." She grabbed his shirt for purchase.

"A-man-da!" He growled in frustration. Tugging her right hand off the bed to help lift her off the bed but she fell backward, pulling him with her.

"Ooof!"

His hands immediately went to her waist as he slowly lifted himself off her.

She stared wide-eyed, holding her breath. Her hands instinctively reached for his forearms.

Afraid of losing the moment, Lee hovered above her, his eyes never straying from hers. Her eyes had flecks of gold in them. How had he never noticed that before?

Amanda let out her breath and she nervously licked her lips. She was certain his eyes were boring a hole in her. And then, as if on some mutual understanding, they drew together. Lee lowered his head toward her, and she slowly lifted her head.

The sound of screeching car tires and police sirens invaded the quiet room and they both jumped. Lee rushed to the window and carefully pulled the curtain back with one hand while the other readied his gun. "Get in the bathroom, Amanda," He ordered. When she didn't move, he yelled louder, "Now!"

She startled but did as she was told and waited in the tiny room for the inevitable. With her ear pressed against the door, she strained to hear anything beyond the sirens.

After a few tense minutes, Lee tapped on the door, "Amanda, you can come out." He sounded relieved and she let out a sigh before peeking out.

"What happened?" She went to the front of the room and snuck a glimpse of the now nearly empty parking lot. "Why did they leave?" she questioned.

"They weren't here for us," he rubbed the back of his neck. He had to get her out of here. This was no place for Amanda. She shouldn't be involved in this. 'Why didn't I send her home? I knew better.'

She watched him from across the room as he silently berated himself for their current predicament. She knew him well enough to know when he was blaming himself. "Lee?"

He shook his head to clear his thoughts and smiled weakly at her. "Sorry. They hauled off some guy a few doors down."

"You mean we're not the only fugitives in this place? The owner should really consider changing the name to 'Fugitives R Us,' it might help business," she laughed in an attempt to shake Lee out of the funk he was clearly in.

He couldn't help but laugh along with her. He knew what she was doing and appreciated the effort. He took her hand in his. " **We're** not fugitives, Amanda. Just me. You can still go home and everything will be fine."

She was shaking her head before he'd even finished. "Don't even try to get rid of me again, Scarecrow." She squeezed his hand and pulled him toward the tiny table in the corner of the room. "Come on, let's figure out a plan."

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"Now, you're sure you heard him right?"

"I'm positive, Lee. The blonde man called them Mr. Zinoviev and Mr. Arcady."

"Well, that explains how they didn't know who I was. I've never heard of either of them." He continued to drive over the bridge. "That's your bridge, so another ten minutes should put us right in the middle of the neighborhood they had you in."

"Yeah. That's what I'm afraid of," she grimaced.

"Don't worry. I won't let anything happen to you," he brought the car to a stop at the light and their eyes met for a moment.

Amanda smiled shyly at him and his stomach knotted. He couldn't help smiling in return. They had been so close to finally crossing that imaginary boundary of friend and . . . what? He shook his head. 'What do you call it when you want to be more than friends with your best friend?' he thought.

The blaring of a horn behind them brought him out of his reverie and gripping the wheel, he stepped on the gas. He'd think about this later, if he wasn't sitting in an Agency holding cell that is.

After a few miles, the houses started to blur together. "Lee, I don't think this is the right area. The houses don't look big enough." She looked around the street and shook her head. "The library I was in had to have been in a very fancy house." It seemed silly. She hadn't seen where she'd been taken except for the inside of the house, and yet here she was telling him they weren't in the right neighborhood. What if they were completely off? Lee's freedom depended on her figuring out where she'd been taken.

The thought of the man sitting next to her being tried for treason made her physically sick. She had to think but it was so difficult over the barking dog and the ice-cream truck's bells ringing down the street.

"I think the houses get bigger a block or two further down," he nodded toward the windshield.

"The bells," she mumbled.

"Bells? What are –"

"The bells and the dogs! Lee!" She grabbed the sleeve of his jacket. "The house I was taken to, it had a very large dog outside. I could hear him barking! And the bells of the ice-cream truck, I could hear that from the library I was kept in."

"Are you sure, Amanda?" He pulled the car over and listened for the sounds. Just then, the booming bark of a dog could be heard.

"There!" she yelled and pointed toward the sprawling ranch in the middle of the cul-de-sac.

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"Did you really tell me to be 'Quiet, Big Fella'?" He asked seriously with a raised brow as they sat in the breakroom of the warehouse waiting for their captors to return.

She squeezed her eyes shut in embarrassment as she quietly replied, "Yes, I'm sorry about that. I was nervous and –"

He couldn't hold in the chuckle he'd been holding back. In moments like this, when the odds were stacked against you, you had to find the humor in even the smallest things.

"Oh, come on," she scolded.

He smirked.

"It's not funny."

"Just relax, Amanda," he soothed.

"Easy for you to say. They're not going to stuff you in a refrigerator and ship off to Moscow!"

"No. I'm the one they're going to put up against a wall and shoot!"

Lee yanked the chair back from the table and slumped into the chair with a loud sigh and then rubbed his hands back and forth through his hair leaving his hair a bit disheveled.

Amanda observed him with a touch of sadness. "I'm sorry." She hadn't meant to upset him. They needed to work together if they were going to get out of this.

"It's okay." When she shrugged, he added, "Hey, it's okay," with a pat of her hand to show her he was sincere.

The door opened and the blonde goon called out, "Scarecrow!"

Both, Lee and Amanda replied in unison, "Yeah?"

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"You should learn from her, my boy. She's the best," Zioniev looked up to where Amanda was hanging from the warehouse shelving and smiled fondly.

Lee raised a brow at him and then replied honestly, "Oh, believe me, I've learned a lot already. And you're right, she really is the best," he turned toward his partner and winked.

Amanda couldn't hold back the smile that his words evoked but forced herself to focus on climbing down and helping her partner collect Zioniev and his men.

As they finished tying them up, Lee pulled Amanda out of earshot of the others and whispered, "Amanda, did you really get in touch with the Agency? Is back up on the way?" Lee asked worriedly.

"Oh yeah, they'll be here any minute," she smiled proudly. "It took a lot of convincing but they finally believed me."

Lee stared at her, as if willing her to realize what he was trying to say without actually saying it.

Her brows furrowed and she concentrated on what he wasn't saying. Suddenly, she whispered, "We still don't have Rostov."

He nodded encouragingly.

"If they find us here . . . we're going to be in a whole lot of trouble."

"Yeah," he agreed.

"We gotta go!" Amanda anxiously added.

"We better get going," Lee added over top of her.

Lee turned toward their prisoners and pointed the gun at Zioniev, "Where is he? Where is Rostov?" he growled.

"It's too late, my boy! He's probably already over the Atlantic by now."

Just then the sounds of Agency vehicles screeching into the parking lot could be heard. Amanda grabbed Lee's shoulder. "Lee! We've gotta go now!"

As they turned to leave, they heard Zioniev call out, "Goodbye, Scarecrow! Until next time."

Both of them looked back at the older man and rolled their eyes.

Amanda ran toward the exit but stopped when she realized Lee wasn't following. "Lee?" As she turned, she saw him grabbing one of the men by the scruff and holding a gun to their head. "Lee!" she yelled but it was if he hadn't heard her. She ran back over to them and tugged on his arm. "Lee! The Agency is right outside. We've got to go," she continued to pull him to his full height but he wouldn't let go of the other man.

"Are you the one that hit Amanda? Hmmm? You like to hit women, do 'ya?"

"Lee, please!" she cried. "We can't be here now. He's not worth it." She pulled him to his feet just as she heard the agents breach the entrance. "Come on!"

He squatted down and gave the burly man a left hook to the jaw. He then grabbed him by the chin and forced him to look Lee in the eye, "You ever lay a hand on her again and you won't live to regret it."

"Oh, Lee," she sighed.

He pushed the man back and grabbed Amanda's hand as they made a mad dash out of the building and took one of the goon's vehicles.

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"Amanda, I don't know why you insisted we come back to their hideout. We just left them at the warehouse. By now the Agency has them in custody." He stopped at the four-way stop just outside of the sign welcoming them into the neighborhood.

Amanda watched as a large refrigerator box truck passed them on the way toward the cul-de-sac.

"Well, maybe they left a clue behind that will tell us where Rostov is. Like you said, the Agency would have been sitting on the Russian Embassy since this whole thing started, so they wouldn't have taken him there."

He pulled up in front of the house and turned off the engine. "You're right. Let's go see what we can find."

After a few minutes of searching, Amanda called out to Lee, "Lee, look at this." She held up a piece of paper.

Upon closer inspection, Lee could see that it was an invoice from Mike's Refrigerator Repair in Virginia. "Yeah, so?" He looked at her in confusion.

"Don't you see? When they brought me here yesterday, it was in a crate. Granted there weren't any holes," she grumbled the last part more to herself. "But remember, they had planned to ship me to Moscow in a refrigerator crate?"

"So, this is the receipt. How does that hel—"

"This is dated for today," she pointed to the upper right-hand corner of the invoice. "Lee, the work order states they were to pick up the crate from this address and deliver it to private terminal 7 at Dulles."

His eyes widened when he finally caught onto what his partner was laying out for him. "They're sneaking Rostov out of here in a crate!" He grabbed the invoice and her hand and they bolted to the door.

"I'm pretty sure they passed us on the way in here, so they're only a few minutes ahead of us. You can catch up to them," she nodded with confidence.

The engine roared to life and the tires squealed as Lee got them on the road toward the airport. " **We** will catch up to them, Amanda," he smiled and squeezed her hand and she smiled in return. It had been days since he'd felt this much hope.

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"There!" She pointed to the box truck that was parked outside a small aircraft about two hundred yards away from them.

"I see it," he replied keeping his eye on the two men unloading the crate from the truck.

She grabbed for the door handle but he grabbed her other hand. "Where are you going?"

"To find a phone. Lee, we have to call the Agency. There are too many of them."

"We need to be sure Rostov is even on that plane. If he's not—"

"If he's not and we call in the cavalry, they're gonna haul **us** away," she sighed in frustration.

"Right. Listen, Amanda I want you to stay—"

"Don't even try it, Lee," she interrupted shaking her head back and forth.

"A-man-da!"

"No, we're in this together. Remember? Now, what's the plan?" She stared at him expectantly.

He finally relented at the look of determination in her eyes. "Fine. There are three of them not including the pilot, but he appears to be busy with the final checklist," he said as he drove around the building and parked along the back.

He cocked his gun and stuffed it into his waistband before handing Amanda the spare gun he'd picked up off Zioniev and she took it and did the same. "We go in quiet. We can't afford a shootout with these guys. For all we know, Rostov is packing as well."

Amanda nodded in understanding, "Got it."

"You sure you're ready for this?" he asked knowing full well she would go to the ends of earth for him.

"Ready."

He reached for the door handle and stopped when he felt her hand on top of his on the middle console. He glanced from their hands up into her eyes in question. "Amanda?"

"Please be careful, Lee."

"You too, Scarecrow," he winked and smiled back at her before they both quietly exited the vehicle and ran along the side of the building toward the front where they were loading the plane.

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Amanda waited to come out from the shadows until Lee gave her the signal from atop the wing of the plane. She was sure the jig was up when she saw him nearly slide off the plane, but luckily, he'd caught his foot and was able to hold his position.

There it was, the signal. She closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath before stepping forward. "Um, excuse me?"

"What is it, Lady?" A man she didn't recognize asked.

"I seem to have lost an earring and I thought I might have lost it in that crate," she motioned toward the crate the other two men were lugging toward the plane. "Have you seen it?"

"Hey, that's Scarecrow!" The shorter man yelled and dropped his end of the crate.

Lee sprang from the top of the plane and jumped on the man who had dropped his end, which had caused the bigger guy to drop the crate on his own foot, causing him to cry out in pain. The distraction was enough to allow Amanda to pull her gun from the back of her waistband and point it at the older man holding the clipboard.

"Hold it right there!" She yelled authoritatively. "Put down the clipboard and hand over your gun, please." When he looked as though he was going to try to out maneuver her, she raised an eyebrow and added, "I wouldn't try it. I **am** the Scarecrow." He appeared to think it over and finally did as he was told and she kicked the gun under the plane. She took a moment to glance over at her partner to see how he was faring.

Lee had knocked out the first goon rather quickly and was now fighting with the other in earnest, using the man's sore foot to his advantage. From the looks of things, it appeared Lee had lost his gun in the ensuing chaos. Amanda worried that the taller man would get the better of her partner and looked around for something to help. She saw a mechanics cart a few feet away and gave it a swift kick toward them. The cart hit its intended victim square in the knees, giving Lee a moment to give the man a few swift punches to the face and abdomen. Remembering she still had an unarmed, conscious man to watch she turned in time to see him leaping toward her. She moved out of the way and shoved him to the ground. "Ah Ah Ah! That's not nice."

"Thanks, Partner," Lee called out as he found his gun and picked it up.

"Looks like we have some loose ends to tie up," she reached into her back pocket and pulled out some rope.

"Where did you get that?" Lee asked in astonishment.

"When we were searching their hideout. It's the rope they used on me. It seems only fitting, don't you think?" she laughed.

"Most definitely," he shook his head and chuckled.

The two worked in silence as they secured the three men and escorted the pilot off the plane. He had no idea he was carrying anything other than refrigerators and parts. They'd have to sort that out back at the Agency.

When they were all secure, Lee cracked open the crate, while Amanda held a gun on it. They were both relieved to find Rostov in the crate looking rather confused and a bit blinded by the sun. Lee yanked him up and used a couple of zip ties he'd found in the mechanics cart to bind the Russian's hands and feet. Amanda ran into the hangar and found a phone to call the Agency. Mr. Melrose sounded both relieved and angry. 'Yep, definitely angry,' she thought. She shuddered at the thought of what would happen to the two of them. At least now they had everyone involved in custody. Well, except for that nasty little woman and Rosco. But that was only a matter of time.

After a bit of chaos and confusion, Billy had his agents take the Russians and their pilot back to the Agency for questioning. Amanda looked on as Lee and Billy stood quietly talking. While he still seemed upset, there were signs of forgiveness as well. The first indication being that neither she nor Lee were being taken by handcuffs back to the Agency. Yeah, maybe things would work out okay.

Amanda stood next to the crate and absently fingered the small holes in the lid. She didn't even hear Lee walk up behind her.

"Amanda, what's wrong?" he asked in concern.

Very seriously she replied, "They gave **him** air holes!"

Lee shook his head and laughed. "Come on! Billy's going to give us a ride back to the office."

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"I can't believe Dr. Smyth isn't going to press charges. He seemed so angry with us when we arrived," she waited for Lee to unlock the door to his office.

He allowed her to enter first and she waited for him shut the door and join her in front of his desk. "I thought for sure he'd throw the book at us," she continued.

"Well, to hear Billy tell it, he wanted to but Billy simply explained how it would make the Agency and Dr. Smyth look if he charged two of his employees with treason after they had just brought in over a dozen KGB agents. Most of which, weren't even on the Agency's radar yet," he smiled. "You did great, Amanda. I couldn't have asked for a better partner," he stated with sincerity.

"Well, I'm just glad it's over," she wrinkled her nose and pulled at her shirt. "Right now, I just want to go home, take a shower and sleep for two days,"

"That does sound good," he eyed her carefully. "Do you think you could settle for a nap and maybe a nice dinner, Scarecrow?" He held his breath while he waited for her to answer.

She pursed her lips together as if contemplating the merits of the invitation. Finally, she nodded and answered, "I think I could sacrifice some sleep for that," she said with a coy smile.

"Seven o'clock? My place?" he asked hopefully.

"See you then." She placed a hand on his shoulder and stood on her tip toes to kiss him on the cheek and turned to leave but he grabbed her wrist to stop her.

"I committed treason for **that**?" he complained and then pulled her snugly to him before placing his lips against hers for a passionate kiss and she melted into the embrace. After several sweet moments, they pulled apart, both looking at the other with heavy-lidded eyes. "Now **that's** more like it, Scarecrow," he teased and pulled her into another kiss.

The End


End file.
